Deputies Shoot Homeless Man 27 Times

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (CN) – Riverside, Calif. sheriff’s officers shot an unarmed, disabled homeless man 27 times and “killed him for no good reason” as he sought refuge from a storm, his sons say in court. Scott and Garrett Gluchaki sued Riverside County in Superior Court on July 24. Riverside County sprawls eastward from the L.A. Basin to the Arizona state line. Charles Gluchaki, 65, was “unarmed, confused, lost, cold, wet, muddy and tired” on Dec. 14, 2014, when deputies shot him to death, his sons say. Gluchaki had wandered about, trying to get warm, when he arrived at the home of 90-year-old Margaret Fouroux. Gluchaki, dressed in a thin shirt and cotton pants, his face muddy from a fall, entered Fouroux’s home around 10 p.m., “in an instinctive effort to get warm.” “It was about 49 degrees and raining,” and Gluchaki told Fouroux and her son “that he was cold and did not know where he was,” the Gluchakis say. Fouroux’s son seated him at a dining room table, where he fell asleep “and posed no threat at all.” Fouroux called 911 to report Gluchaki’s “appearance at her home,” and when deputies arrived they “demanded that he walk outside of the residence where they confronted him with loaded guns aimed right at him,” according to the complaint. His sons says Gluchaki stood on Fouroux’s front porch, unarmed and did not approach or make “a furtive gesture of any sort” to the deputies, who were spread throughout the yard. “At most, he slowly reached for what he believed was some form of identification,” the 13-page complaint states. “For no rational reason, defendant deputies shot Charles Gluchaki 27 times and killed him. One wonders how many rounds were actually fired during this horrific incident.” Gluchaki was killed in Good Hope, an unincorporated area just west of Perris. He had been living in Jurupa Valley, about 15 miles to the north, on the other side of the county seat, Riverside. His sons say there was absolutely no reason to kill him, and that it could have been prevented had they simply dealt with him without threats. “Deputies should have gathered information about Charles Gluchaki before even approaching him,” the complaint states, “and should have utilized a psychiatric response team or other staff with mental health expertise.” Riverside County Sheriff’s Department did not return a request for comment. Fouroux could not be reached by phone. “Considering the totality of the circumstances surrounding defendants’ use of deadly force toward Charles Gluchaki, and in the words of Ms. Fouroux herself, ‘They didn’t have to do that’ and ‘He was no harm,'” the complaint states. Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Vasquez told a local newspaper that Gluchaki had “kicked in the front door” of Fouroux’s home. “He kicked in the front door of a residence to an elderly couple,” Vasquez told Valley News. “We arrived on scene and the male was still at the location.” His sons seek punitive damages for wrongful death, negligent hiring and supervision, and civil rights violations. They are represented by Daniel McGee with McGee, Lerer and Associates, of Los Angeles.